Lot 57
  • 57

MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN | Untitled, 1976

Estimate
600,000 - 800,000 INR
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Description

  • Maqbool Fida Husain
  • Untitled, 1976
  • Signed 'Husain' in Devanagari, Urdu and English lower left and signed in Devanagari, Urdu and English and dated '10 / VII / 76' on reverse
  • Unique silver print
  • 24.1 x 24.1 cm. (9 ½ x 9 ½ in.)
  • Printed in 1976

Provenance

Gifted by the artist, late 1970s

Condition

Undulations, small spots of foxing and minor accretions are visible upon close inspection. Slight discolouration, light scratches and small creases are also present. Irregularities to the surface which appear inherent. This photograph is in good overall condition, as viewed. Please note the work has not been inspected outside its frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Perhaps his rarest work, and never-before-seen in public, this photograph by Maqbool Fida Husain is the only known example to be offered for sale at international auction. The work was created in 1976 in Switzerland, when Husain was working on producing a coffee table book called Triangles which was meant for private circulation. The present lot encompasses one of Husain’s most important and evocative themes: women. A woman, represented here twice, is shown in dynamic movement. The duplication of her body results in a hybrid form, one which appears powerfully liberated from romanticism and eroticism. Painted on her torso is another of Husain’s other enduring motifs, the elephant. By exaggerating the upper body, Husain plays with the discomfort of the viewer’s gaze, and through the use dark shadow he represents the expressiveness of the human body to its fullest.

As Shiv Kapur declares, ‘The prime symbol of Husain's total view of life is the woman, again perhaps the Indian woman. For pain comes to woman as her natural state, the giving of birth and, because of birth, an awareness of dissolution. Woman is the sentient point of man's natural being, she has curiosity, she suffers, she gives birth willingly. There is pity in her yes, as there is love in her breast. Man is, according to Husain, virile only in heroism, is broken by pain. Husain paints women because these are not heroic times and, tenderly joyous or suffering, women remain vital.’ (Shiv Kapur, Husain, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, 1961, p. 5-6)

According to Yashodhara Dalmia, ‘Husain’s women are always enshrouded in an invisible veil’. (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2001, p. 111) In the current lot, this is represented through the shadows which obscure the woman’s face. Dalmia attributes the presence of the ‘invisible veil’ in Husain’s depictions of women to the void left by his mother’s early passing, a fact the artist confirms: “My mother Zainab died when I was two years old. I had fallen seriously ill and her desperate prayer was that her life should be taken and mine spared. That is exactly what happened. Though alive I counted myself extremely unfortunate. Can anyone make up for the loss of a mother? I don’t even have a picture of her. She refused to get herself photographed… Sadly I have nothing which remotely resembles or reminds me of my mother. She is just a name to me, not even a memory.” (M. F. Husain quoted in ibid)